Block on request for Ark. school documents lifted

Block on request for Ark. school documents lifted

A federal judge says he will lift a temporary order that blocked a Freedom of Information Act request by Arkansas' attorney general for documents from the Little Rock School District.

JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge says he will lift a temporary order that blocked a Freedom of Information Act request by Arkansas' attorney general for documents from the Little Rock School District.

U.S. District Judge Price Marshall Jr. said during a hearing Thursday in Jonesboro that the district is not exempt from the FOI Act simply because it's involved in a lawsuit.

The state and the district are preparing for a hearing involving the state's approval of charter schools.

An assistant attorney general had asked for documents such as legal bills, analyses of charter schools, parent satisfaction surveys and student withdrawal records. The district argued that the discovery process — in which the two sides exchange information before going to court — should be used instead of the FOI Act.